Edgar Submission Information

The Edgar® Awards – Guidelines and Entry Forms

With the exception of the Robert L. Fish and Mary Higgins Clark awards, a work can be submitted to only one Edgar® committee. It is the responsibility of the publisher or producer to submit works to the appropriate committee. One copy of each eligible work must be sent to each member of the proper committee along with a copy of the submission form. In addition, only the submission form is sent to the MWA National Office. Contact the MWA National Headquarters for a list of the judges’ names and addresses. Do NOT include reviews or other promotional materials along with your entry. Do NOT contact the judges regarding this or any other submission (beyond sending the books). Contacting the judges directly might make this submission ineligible for consideration. Send the entry form (links to online forms below) to: MWA National Office 1140 Broadway, Suite 1507 New York NY 10001 A completed entry form is required for submission.

All works submitted for consideration must meet the requirements for Active Status membership as described in the membership guidelines. While the author does not need to be a member of MWA, the work itself must make the author eligible for active status. In addition, all publishers submitting work must be on MWA’s approved publisher list or otherwise qualify to be added to that list. If the publisher does qualify to be added to the list, they must contact the MWA national office to begin the vetting process. All requests must be approved by the national board before the final submission deadline. See the Membership: Active Status section for the details.

Mail it to the MWA National Office, 1140 Broadway, Suite 1507, New York NY 10001

Fax it to 212-888-8107

Please note that some of our judges will now accept books/stories in e-pub format. They are noted on the Judges’ mailing list. If you are willing to submit in their requested format, please do so. However, you must follow these instructions: use the online submission form, and email it to each judge along with an Ecopy of the book/story. The Efile must be in a format that is compatible with all standard eReaders, e.g. Kindle, iPad, Kobo, etc. There can be no expiration date associated with the file. Just as you would be giving them the hardcover or paperback, you are giving them the e-book without any restrictions. NetGalley, Edelweiss, Amazon Gift and all eFiles or widgits must be sent to judges “clean,” i.e. with no sales/promotion/quotes material attached.

Works should be submitted by the publisher, but may also be submitted by the author or agent. There is no entry fee, and no limit to the number of entries from a publisher or an individual author.

Deadlines We suggest that work be submitted on the following schedule to assist the judging committee. Meeting these deadlines is not a requirement for eligibility; however, it will greatly aid the judging process.

Books must now be submitted during the month of publication. There is no benefit to waiting until the end of the year – if anything, that may be a hindrance to the book being fairly judged. In addition, the book must arrive to the judges within 30 days of sending the submission form to the national office.

WORKS PUBLISHED/RELEASED SUBMIT BY DATE
January 2015 – March 2015 March 31, 2015
April 2015 May 29, 2015
May 2015 June 30, 2015
June 2015 July 31, 2015
July 2015 August 28, 2015
August 2015 September 30, 2015
September 2015 October 30, 2015
October – December 31, 2015 November 30, 2015

ONLY Books with a December publication date may be submitted in galleys.

Please Note: No work will be accepted after November 30, 2015. (This does not apply to works available only in December, such as television shows. All books must be received by the judges by November 30, 2015). Works received after that date will not be considered for an Edgar Award. Absolutely no exceptions. Nominations are usually announced in the middle of January (on or near Edgar Allan Poe’s birthday) of the following year and the winners are announced at the annual Edgar® Awards Banquet, which takes place in New York City in late April or early May each year.

The Edgar® Awards

Each spring, MWA presents the Edgar® Awards, widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious awards in the genre. Learn more at TheEdgars.com.
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